Greenmustangs point is critical! The main difference between 1941 and other A&A games is the huge disparity between starting Total Unit Value and Starting Income. What this amounts to is a game where unit replacement is very challenging and very expensive, relative to the money on hand. This was my initial gripe with 1941 as a “starter board” because the margin for error is so slim. New players don’t have as many oppertunities to explore silly moves, or learn from combat or purchasing errors, since even one goof can dramatically alter the balance of forces. If everyone playing is equally inexperienced with A&A, this isn’t a huge problem, because units will just be destroyed in a flash, the game will end quickly, and then you just reset the board and play again.
;)
It gets a bit more challenging though, when one player “knows what they’re doing” but the others don’t. The less experienced players often have a hard time grasping this idea that the starting units are way more valuable, than the units that enter the game through purchasing, and each unit you lose can present a major setback. The desire to fight and destroy enemy units often trumps the desire to “play it safe” wait and not engage, and what happens is they throw away most of their starting units in trades to no purpose.
My best solution for 1941 with new people, is to just put a little more cash in play. A one time bonus of 10 ipcs during the first round to starting income. Or a repeating bonus of 5 ipcs per nation per round (for holding their capital) can make the game a lot more enjoyable for new people. It gives them some breathing room, and a chance to recover from early screw ups.
I agree with you completely, the best way to learn is by playing. In that other thread for 1942 sec ed, I suggested that you start with the battle board and stage a lot of example battles, before playing the game itself. The advantage of 1941 is its fast set up time. 1941 drags a bit due to the lack of artillery, but even then, I’d think you should be able to complete a game in the first session, and perhaps even complete a second game. I find that 1941 takes about 2 hours to complete on average. It can go longer, but usually one side can manage to take a capital by then.
I think your plan is solid. I usually try to stick to the OOB values the first time out since the new guys will be more reliant on the set up cards and graphic information written on the map and the battleboard, because it’s their first time. Of course, there is a trick with that because the current “official” set up doesn’t exactly match the cards. Especially with the US destroyer or the US starting income. That’s why I think its fairly easy to just give everyone an extra 10 ipcs at the outset and an extra 5 each turn at collect income, just to make purchasing a bit more fun for them. It allows them to explore more “big ticket” buys like tanks or fighters or ships, without getting punished so hard by the dude who understands the strong advantage of the infantry push.
;)
Have fun and let us know how it went
